A Good View
by SRduVarno
Summary: One of Dumbledore's old friends shows up for a visit.


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and the related materials. That belongs to JK Rowling. Airy and Drathan are mine basically everything else is JK Rowling's. Now that that is out of the way please, read and review.  
  
A Good View  
  
Eareandael was enjoying the stiff breeze when his mount and friend, Drathan, spoke. "We've entered the realms of men, Airy"  
  
"I know. I can smell the difference."  
  
Drathan snorted his disbelief and then asked, "Don't you have a friend out here somewhere?"  
  
"Well, yeah. He's the headmaster of some school or other. It's over in England. You knew that didn't you? I mean you bring me Albus' letters with all the other mail."  
  
"Yes," replied Drathan, "I do remember. We're passing over England now. Do you want me to find him? You could visit him for your vacation."  
  
"Hey, that would be great. I think he teaches wizards at a place called Hogwarts. It's supposed to have protections. Can you find it?"  
  
Drathan chuckled, "A wizardling school with all the standard protections will stand out like a sore thumb. In fact, I think I see it over there. I'll drop you on the far side of that forest. After all these people won't know how to deal with me if I show up."  
  
"Sadly true, ol' buddy, but I suppose it is to be expected of people who only know the bestial dragons."  
  
"Yes it is. Now hold on." After he said this, Drathan pointed his bronze nose towards a glade nearly outside the forest. Then he folded his wings and dropped out of the heavens like a bolt of lightning. Seconds before impact he flared his wings so that the landing was extremely gentle. "I'm going to sleep here for today, Airy. If you need me you know how to call."  
  
"Yepitty, yepitty, yep, yep," nodded Airy. "Well, I'm off to see the wizard." he sang as he skipped off into the forest. Drathan just snorted and went to sleep.  
  
-------------------  
  
It was breakfast time at Hogwarts and Albus Dumbledore was sitting down to his usual breakfast when he heard a cheerful voice that he hadn't heard in many years talking to someone out in the Entry Hall. "Can you tell me where to find some food, please, please, please? I'm hungry. Oh, yeah, and can you tell me where Albus is? I wanna talk to him. Thank you."  
  
Then he heard Minerva's reply, "Who are you, sir? If you give me your name I shall see that Professor Dumbledore knows that you are here. Now follow me and I shall show you where you can wait."  
  
"Aww, but I smell food through those doors over there. I know, How's about I go eat and then wander off. You can tell Albus that I'm wandering around, and then we all meet for lunch over through those doors."  
  
Albus looked to the doors of the hall as they were opened. The man who walked through, followed closely by an irate Minerva McGonagall, was tall. He stood nearly seven feet tall and his long black hair fell in thick waves down his back to his knees. His square face was clean shaven and shone with a sort of mischievous pleasure. His dark green eyes sparkled with intelligence and humor and his generous mouth quirked with his amusement at McGonagall's irritation. His brown leather garments, looking very much like some archaic suit of armor, fitted close enough to his skin that his bulging muscles could be clearly seen. In fact, several of the girls looked as flustered as McGonagall though for no apparent reason. As the man looked around Albus said, "Airy? What are you doing here?"  
  
Airy turned towards Albus and said, "Albie!!" He walked up to the Teacher's Table and did a handspring with a twist over the table. He landed in Professor McGonagall's chair. Then he looked up at Albus Dumbledore and said, "I'm on vacation, Albie, so I decided to come visit you. Sit down and let's eat." Airy proceeded to eat with both hands stuffing food into his maw. It was several seconds before Albus sat down and several minutes before McGonagall calmed down.  
  
Meanwhile, over at the Gryffindor table, Ron looked at Harry and Hermione and said, "Blimey, who is that guy?"  
  
"I don't know," replied Harry, "Maybe he's famous. What do you think, Hermione? . Hermione? What's wrong?"  
  
Ron coughed, the cough sounded like "Lockhart".  
  
Hermione blinked and said, "What was that Harry?"  
  
Harry sighed and said, "I asked if you knew any thing about that guy."  
  
"Well," Hermione frowned, "It sounded like his name is Harry and he clearly knows Professor Dumbledore, but his name wasn't in anything I've read."  
  
"What," said Ron sounding irritated, "No Harrys in connected to Dumbledore in all the stuff you've read?"  
  
"Don't be silly, Ron," snapped Hermione, "the only Harry in most of what I've read is Harry Potter."  
  
"That means we won't be going to the library, right?" Ron said hopefully.  
  
"I'm sure there's something in the library that mentions him, Ron, we'll just have to hunt for it," was Hermione's reply.  
  
After Airy finished eating his sixth plate of food he asked Albus for a tour of Hogwarts. Albus replied, "I wish I could old friend, but I have meetings with Ministry officials until supper."  
  
"Ok," said Airy. As he looked around for someone else to give him a tour his eye landed on the Gryffindor table, where Hermione was waiting impatiently for Ron to finish his breakfast. "How about having those students show me around, Albie?" asked Airy as he pointed to where Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting.  
  
"Just the thing, Airy," said Dumbledore, "that will give them a chance to ask them who you are so they don't have to try to find out from the library."  
  
Airy laughed, "That would be rather difficult wouldn't it."  
  
Airy and Albus reached Harry, Ron, and Hermione just as Ron finished his breakfast. "If you three would be so kind," said Albus, "My friend, Airy, wishes a tour of the school. I'm sure," here his eyes glinted, "that he wouldn't mind answering a few questions while you show him around."  
  
"May we take him to the places that students aren't normally allowed to go, Professor?" asked Hermione.  
  
Dumbledore replied, "You may go where ever you wish within reason." He turned to Airy and said, "Make sure they don't hurt themselves, Airy. I'll see you at supper."  
  
"Ok, Albie, I be there."  
  
As Albus Dumbledore walked out of the Great Hall Airy looked at the three of them and, with his head tilted to one side and a big grin on his face, said, "What we see first, kiddoes?"  
  
--------------  
  
When the four of them had left the Great Hall Hermione looked around thoughtfully for a second. Then she said, "This is the entry hall, Harry."  
  
Airy looked over at Ron and Harry and asked, "Which of you is, Harry?"  
  
Harry replied, "I am. Why?"  
  
"How long have you been here?"  
  
"This is my sixth year. Why?"  
  
"Why is she telling you about the school while she's showing me around?"  
  
At this point Hermione broke in, "I thought Professor Dumbledore said your name was 'Harry'."  
  
"Oh," was Airy's response, "No, my name is Eareandael, but everyone calls me Airy, A-i-r-y."  
  
"Er, sorry about that Airy," said Hermione with a blush.  
  
"Not a problem," replied Airy with another grin.  
  
"Why do you go by Airy if it's not your name?" asked Ron.  
  
"Cause almost no one can pronounce my name right." was Airy's reply, "Now what will we see next?"  
  
"I was thinking," said Hermione after she finished blushing, "that we would show you the first floor, and then work our way up."  
  
"That makes sense," said Airy, "Just like in a movie, start at the lower stuff and go to the high point."  
  
"What?" said Ron.  
  
"Er, never mind," Airy replied.  
  
-------------  
  
"This is the Charms corridor," said Hermione.  
  
Airy looked around for a second and said, "Ok. Doesn't look very charming to me, but I'll take your word for it."  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione groaned.  
  
--------------  
Finally, they stood on top of the Astronomy tower. Airy looked out over the castle and its grounds. He said, "Here is good, for here is a good view." Then he looked straight over the edge and said, "I do hope we aren't jumping down. That would be much too swift path to the end of this tour."  
  
Ron glared at Airy, Harry sighed, and Hermione just shook her head.  
  
Airy saw this and laughed long and loud.  
  
--------------  
  
As they made their way down the tower Ron asked Harry if they were going to go join Hagrid for tea. Airy heard this and asked who Hagrid was. When he heard that Hagrid was the Care of Magical Creatures teacher he said that he would join them for tea with Hagrid and that he was inviting one of his friends to tea as well.  
  
"Drathan, do you want tea?" asked Airy with his telepathy.  
  
Drathan replied in the same way, "I suppose so, if they won't run in terror."  
  
"I'll make sure they don't old friend. Come by land if you can that will keep them from noticing before you're in speaking range."  
  
When the four reached Hagrid's hut Harry knocked on the door. Hagrid greeted Airy and invited everyone in. Once they were in Airy said that he had invited another friend whom he thought Hagrid might enjoy meeting, but that they needed to take the tea outside if he was going to come to tea. Hagrid agreed readily and Airy chivvied everyone out Hagrid's back door. By the time everyone had gotten out the door they had all frozen in place. Drathan was standing there ten feet tall and nearly a hundred feet long. The width of his shoulders was fifteen feet. Airy saw him and said, "Ah, Drathan, I'm glad you could make it. This," as he pointed to each in turn, "is Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weaseley, and Hagrid the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. Gentlemen, lady, this is Drathan, a wing commander in the Avalonian air arm."  
  
Hagrid was the first to recover from the shock. "Yer a Dragon ain't ya."  
  
"Last time I checked, yes, I am a dragon, Professor Hagrid." Drathan replied, "Now if you would be so kind as to get everything ready so that we can have quite a civilized tea I would be much obliged. Thank you."  
  
"Righ', Righ'" said Hagrid.  
  
After everything had been set up for tea and, at Drathan's insistence, Drathan had poured everyone a cup of tea everyone sat down. Then Hagrid began asking Drathan questions about dragons, and what it was like to fly, and whether he could breathe fire. Drathan seemed to find this amusing and answered every question quite willingly. As the tea and rock biscuits disappeared, mostly into Drathan's mouth, Hermione finally got up her nerve to ask a question. "Airy said that you are a wing commander for the Avalonian air arm, Sir?"  
  
"Yes, he did, lass."  
  
"Does that mean that you live in Avalon?"  
  
"Yes, indeed. Both of us live in Avalon, lass. Airy is the chief strategist in Avalon."  
  
Then Ron asked Airy,"How do you know, Professor Dumbledore?"  
  
"I told him how to defeat some minor dark wizard. I think his name was Grindelwald. Then I gave him lessons in strategy and tactics," replied Airy.  
  
Hermione looked at her watch then and said "We'd better get up to the castle. We have things that we need to do."  
  
"Righto," said Airy.  
  
Hagrid said goodbye and Drathan stood up and gave a little bow as he said farewell.  
  
As Harry and his friends walked off they could hear all three of them talking.  
  
-------------  
  
When dinner came, Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived slightly late. They looked and saw Airy speaking animatedly with Albus Dumbledore.  
  
Ron asked Hermione quietly, as the rest of the Gryffindors spread what Harry and his friends had learned, "What did you make of him?"  
  
Hermione replied, "He seems crazy, but I'd be willing to bet he isn't nearly as mad as he acts."  
  
Ron grunted and said, "Well, now we know where Dumbledore gets his craziness. He must have learned it from Airy."  
  
Meanwhile, at the High Table, Airy was listening to Dumbledore talk about the problems that he had with finding a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Airy said that if he could be spared he would be willing to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Dumbledore accepted and turned the conversation to Airy's tour of the castle. Airy told Dumbledore most of the jokes that he had made while dinner progressed. After dinner was over Airy suggested that they go up to the top of the Astronomy Tower. Albus agreed.  
  
"It is good to stand once more in a place of peace where the Earth meets the Heavens," said Airy as they stood there in the warm breeze.  
  
"How long will it take you to find out if you can teach here?" asked Albus.  
  
"I'll know tomorrow or the day after," was his reply.  
  
"Thank you for offering your help, old friend," said Albus.  
  
"It is nothing, my friend. Besides I have some ideas for teaching that will be vastly amusing."  
  
Albus laughed and said, "Than I shall bid you good night, friend Airy."  
  
"Good night," said Airy.  
  
Albus made his way down the tower and to his rooms. Then he thought for a second, for he knew, somehow, that Airy would spend the night on top of the tower, in that place where the heavens met the earth. It seemed right in a way that didn't make sense.  
  
Author's note: No I don't have any plans to write more than this. If I change my mind it'll be a sequel. 


End file.
